Ben has been voted in as President of the NY Chapter of The Recording Academy, with a two-year term to begin June 2016. The Academy is most widely known as the organization behind the Grammy Awards, which together with MusiCares and The Grammy Foundation comprise the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Ben began his tenure as a Governor of the NY Chapter in 2011, assumed the chairmanship of the Advocacy Committee in 2013 and was voted Vice President in 2014 and again in 2015. Says Ben,

“I am honored and excited by the opportunity to serve as President of the New York Chapter of this great organization. The Recording Academy is the largest and most-inclusive trade organization in the US dedicated to supporting the health of the recording industry and the rights of music creators. I’m particularly proud to work with our amazing board and Executive staff which is comprised of some of the best people I know.”

Digging through my archives, I came across this recording of my band playing Riding the Nuclear Tiger with the 80-piece Jazz Sinfonica Orchestra from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The arrangement is by Todd Murphy and your's truly (mostly Todd). Michael Blake plays the soprano solo. Also in the band at that time was Michael Sarin (drums), Frank Kimbrough (piano) and Ted Nash (tenor saxophone). The sound quality is not great (check out that bass sound!). It was recorded by my agent on her small camera from the audience. But it's a killer arrangement and still gives me chills to hear. I remember the power of that sound, especially the tympani at the end.

Since 2003, Ben has been routinely cited in numerous categories of the Downbeat Critics Poll. This year, Ben continues the streak with citations in the Bassist, Composer and Rising Star Arranger categories, and, for the first time the Rising Star Producer category.

In 2014, Ben was elected by the New York Board of Governors to serve as Vice President of the NY Chapter of The Recording Academy. This June, Ben will begin a second term as VP and will continue his role as Advocacy Chair.

The Academy is most widely known as the organization behind the Grammy Awards, which together with MusiCares and The Grammy Foundation comprise the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Ben began his tenure as a Governor of the NY Chapter in 2011 and assumed the chairmanship of the Advocacy Committee in 2013.

"I'm thrilled to be able to continue my role as VP as well as Advocacy Chair, especially during this time of significant change in music industry," Ben said. "We have a once-in-a-generation chance to revisit and improve upon existing copyright law, as well as finally address some long-standing inequities in the area of performing rights. These issues affect all music creators and the Recording Academy is at the forefront of efforts to address them."

Ben was recently voted in as Vice President of the NY Chapter of The Recording Academy. The Academy is most widely known as the organization behind the Grammy Awards, which together with MusiCares and The Grammy Foundation comprise the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Ben began his tenure as a Governor of the NY Chapter in 2011 and assumed the chairmanship of the Advocacy Committee in 2013. Says Ben,
"I am honored and excited by the opportunity to serve at this great organization. NARAS plays an important role as one of the largest and most-inclusive trade organizations, supporting the health of the music industry as well as the lives and livelihoods of artists and creators."

Ben's first album in over 2 years will be available on December 3, 2013 in CD format and digitally by mid-November. The Stars Look Very Different Today is his 11th album and the first to be released on Sonic Camera Records. Ben and the band will be performing live on WNYC-FM's popular show Soundcheck with John Schaeffer on Tuesday, November 26. But you can hear a preview track now, as well as watch a trailer on the making of the new album at http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/song-premiere-ben-allison/

Ben returned to Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 23 & 24 to perform with the 80-piece Jazz Sinfonica Orchestra. Maestro Joao Mauricio Galindo conducted compositions by Ben and saxophonist Ted Nash.
The concerts were held at the spectacular Auditorio Ibirapuera.

I'm very excited to be collaborating with Cambodian chapei master Kong Nay on a concert to be held April 20 at the Asia Society, NYC.One of only a few musicians to have survived the Khmer Rouge era, Kong Nay improvises with a satirical wit, part of a thousand-year-old tradition that gives poetic license to chapei players. His playing is rhythmic and soulful.
For this concert, I'll be collaborating with Kong Nay, guitarist Marc Ribot and drummer Rudy Royston on new musical forms based on Cambodian folk music and American Blues. It promises to be a musical adventure, a true meeting of minds and cultures.

This fall marks the 20th anniversary of the first Jazz Composers Collective concert. In celebration, we're reprising the Collective Festival with a week-long series at the Jazz Standard in New York City.
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